Fabrizio lives just south of the Italian city of Milan and is a singer and writer, as well as a harmonica player
Main genres are blues, spirituals and folk
Played some Italian folk music early on in career with the band Turututela
Also plays a lot of gospel (aka spiritual) music
First turned onto the blues when saw Paul Butterfield and Muddy Waters on The Last Waltz where he jumped on the seat in the movie theatre when Muddy appeared
Bought a harmonica the day after hearing Paul Butterfield for the first time but it took some time for Fabrizio to learn, with no-one playing harmonica in the local area
Almost gave up learning harmonica until someone told him how to play in second position
Was obsessed to learn the harmonica from age of around 20
Learnt blues harmonica from records
Started playing in bands but learnt most when travelled to the US in the 1990s
Came back with a suitcase full of CDs from the US
There was a blues scene around Milan but not much harmonica, with British player John Mayall the best known harmonica player and the British blues bands visible in Italy
The language barrier was also a factor, with not many people in Italy speaking English at that time
Fabrizio jokes that he learnt English from Muddy Waters and Howling Wolf
Blues scene in Italy is popular now, with lots of young players and Fabrizio hopes he has been an inspiration to some young players there
Blues is widely available across Italy now, especially festivals in the summer
Lot of music venues have closed in Italy
Fabrizio’s first main band was Chicken Mambo, who wanted to play New Orleans music
Visited New Orleans on first visit to the US and to the Jazz and Heritage festival with lots of big names appearing
Second album with Chicken Mambo was Under The Southern Sky, another self-produced album
Toured the US between 1998-2002, making a lot of friends along the way and improving as a musician
In 2010 took the whole Chicken Mambo band to play in the US
Made first album in the US in 1999: Nuther World, in an attempt to record with an authentic sound
Self-funded a lot of Chicken Mambo’s albums and travel in the early years
Nuther World was a tribute to the singer songwriters that Fabrizio enjoyed when young
Learnt a lot during this time, especially from the generous support of people in the US
The musicians were very supportive and happy to perform with Fabrizio
Album Songs For Angelina is for his wife, who has been very supportive throughout his career
Performed at the King Biscuit Time festival in Helena, Arkansas, several times, where he met James Cotton, among others
Might have played through the very same mic as Sonny Boy Williamson II
Blind Boys of Alabama and Charlie Musselwhite appear on Fabrizio’s 2013 album: Spirit of Mercy
Some of the many great artists Fabrizio has shared the stage with
How got Blind Boys of Alabama and Charlie Musselwhite to play on the Spirits of Mercy album
Released Harpway 61 album in 2012, a tribute to the blues harmonica greats, and gifted to the Blues Foundation to help raise money for blues musicians
Made first album with Guy Davis in 2013: Juba Dance, and how teamed-up with him
Shared a passion for acoustic blues with Guy Davis
Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train album from 2017 was nominated for a Grammy
The Rolling Stones won the Grammy in the same category in the year they were nominated
Went to the Grammy ceremony in Madison Square Gardens in New York
Chastised by security after playing the harmonica on the red carpet at the Grammy ceremony
Guy Davis appears on Fabrizio’s Basement Blues album from 2022, an archive compilation of live recordings made by Fabrizio over the preceding years
His wife, Angelina, has played a pivotal role in Fabrizio’s career
Latest album, from 2024, is Healing Blues, with Shar White (backing singer with Eric Clapton) guesting on the album
Has appeared at Carnegie Hall with Guy Davis and the special acoustics there
Has written four books, with a biography about Fabrizio written by Serena Simula released last year, entitled ‘Believe’, it’s about the belief that Fabrizio has in his dreams
Has been awarded a Hohner Lifetime Achievement Award
Honoured by the President of the Italian Republic with a Knight of Merit for artistic merit
Is a Hohner endorsee with the Special 20 the diatonic of choice
Doesn’t do any customisation but will sometimes have customisers make different tunings on his diatonics
Plays acoustically through the PA, not using any amplifiers or dedicated harmonica mics
Sonny Terry did play a little amplified harmonica, as discussed on the Sonny Terry retrospective podcast episode
Only plays diatonic now, but played some tremolo, bass and chromatic harmonica in the Turututela folk band
Was in contact with Brendan Power about his Irish harmonica playing on chromatic
Doesn’t use any overblows
Mainly uses lip pursing but mixed with tongue blocking when required for certain effects
Uses SM58 to play and sing through
Likes some reverb and delay on the mic, especially in the studio when has different channels for vocals and harmonica
Some of studio work recorded has other effects when added by the producer in post-production
Future plans include promoting the Healing Blues album and the Believe biography and a tour in Europe coming up
